Thor's Serpents (6 page)

“How… Where… What happened to Fen? And the troll?” She looked around the room. The light that she had seen by just a moment ago was gone. “The light went away—”

“Mara,” Baldwin said quietly. “Remember? Whatever you saw wasn’t real. No Fen. No light. No trolls.”

“It was like you were asleep but standing.” Owen nudged her toward the tipi, and as much as she didn’t want to move away from where she thought she’d just seen Fen, she knew that she had to. Fen wasn’t really here. Those were her fears. It had seemed so real, but her cousin wasn’t here. The whole thing was a waking nightmare caused by monsters.

“I should’ve known that,” she whispered.

Baldwin hugged her. “You’re worried about him. The mara took advantage of that.”

Owen handed her the flashlight, and the three kids went inside the tipi. It was one of her favorite spots in the museum. Last year, she and Fen had been here to listen to a Lakota storyteller. They’d listened to a story about
Inktomi
, the spider. He was a trickster and could take the shape of a man or a wolf. Laurie didn’t know then that Fen was able to change
his shape—or that her father could, too.
Inktomi
seemed a lot like Loki, their dead ancestor, so it was no surprise that Fen loved that story. After the storyteller was done, Fen was happy and laughing, and he agreed with Laurie that the Journey was an awesome museum.

“I hope you’re safe wherever you are,” she whispered, letting her hand graze the tipi. Then she took a deep breath and looked at the descendants of the North who were still with her. “Okay. We can move through the next rooms. If we see any crazy nightmares, we shake each other free. Once we find Matt, we get out of here. The three of us can’t vanquish the mara, so we’re just here to get any humans free. If there aren’t any, we portal out.”

The boys nodded, and the trio went through the museum, looking for any people who were trapped inside the building with the monsters. In one corner of the pioneer exhibit, next to a creepy-looking old doll in a case, they found a family, curled up together and shaking. Laurie didn’t want to know if that doll was a part of their nightmare, but from the way they were staring at it, she wouldn’t be surprised. Baldwin and Owen pulled the three people to their feet, shook them free of their nightmares, and then the small group kept moving.

After a few minutes, they found a museum employee fighting invisible intruders and rescued him, too. He’d broken free several rocks from the geology exhibit and was
using them to beat invisible enemies. Once he was free of his nightmares, he looked around with wide eyes.

“You’re okay,” Laurie promised. “They’re gone now.”

The man nodded but didn’t speak. She suspected that was what the descendants had all looked like the first time they fought creatures that shouldn’t exist. She knew it was what she had felt like the first time she’d seen a troll.

“We’re here to help,” Owen said calmly.

“What he said,” Baldwin added.

It wasn’t much, saving only a couple people when the world outside was in chaos, but it felt good. It felt like they were doing something right, and that helped. At least, it made Laurie feel better.

When they came across the Berserkers, they handed the people over to them to escort them out of the building, and they kept going in search of their missing friends or more trapped people.

“We’re keeping them all in the lobby,” one of the acrobatic fighters said. “And we’re guarding them.”

Owen murmured something approving, and then he and Baldwin continued following Laurie. There weren’t any other museum visitors in the next few rooms, so she supposed that the Berserkers had done their part in rescuing them all. That only left Matt and the twins.

“Maybe they’re in the lobby, too,” Baldwin suggested when she commented on their absence.

“The Berserkers would’ve told us,” Owen pointed out.

The three of them kept moving until they came across a theater. Inside, the twins were finishing some sort of spell. The two kids had their hands clasped together, and Matt stood at their side—hammer and shield at the ready—as if he were their bodyguard.

As the mara snapped out of existence, back to wherever nightmare creatures should rightly exist, the twins slumped to the floor, looking like they were ready to pass out in exhaustion.

“Are you all okay?” Matt asked.

Laurie nodded. “We gathered up a few people, and the Berserkers took them to the lobby. You?”

“Tired,” Reyna said.

Ray smiled. “But safe.”

They stood silently for a moment before Matt said, “The building’s clear now. It’ll be a safe place for those who need it.”

“But not us,” Baldwin added quickly. “We’re not staying here, right?”

Laurie almost laughed at the look on his face. Baldwin was all for adventure, and even the scariest monsters didn’t seem to make him pause for long. His attitude reminded her of Fen. Quickly, she shoved that thought away. She wasn’t giving up on her cousin, but she had to concentrate on right now.

“Matt?” Laurie prompted. “What’s the plan?”

“We need to go back to Blackwell,” Matt said. He quickly summarized his conversation with the Norns, and added, “If I’m looking for family to talk to, I need to start there.”

“I want to check in with my family to see if they’ve heard from Fen,” Laurie said.

“Right,” Matt said. “Laurie and I will go to Blackwell, then.”

“Ray and I should come, too,” Reyna said. “I’ll watch Matt’s back and Ray can watch Laurie’s.”

The truth was that Ray was the last person Laurie would’ve picked for reinforcement. It was easier when Fen was with them. Then, there was never any doubt as to who had her back. Ray wasn’t a bad guy, but he wasn’t a fighter. He seemed nice but content to stay in the background. In essence, Laurie would be on her own.

“Owen and Baldwin, you can handle whatever chaos is left here,” Matt said.

“Sure thing,” Baldwin said.

“Actually, the Berserkers can handle this,” Owen pointed out diplomatically. “Baldwin and I can go with you.”

“Sure thing,” Baldwin repeated.

Laurie flashed a grateful smile at Owen and told Matt, “That would work. Ray and Reyna can stay together with you, Matt, and Baldwin, and Owen can come with me.”

“Fine,” Matt said. “Laurie, can you get us a portal to Blackwell?”

“On it,” Laurie said. She turned to Owen and whispered, “Thank you.”

He nodded, but said nothing.

Then she took a few calming breaths, trying to find the peace that she needed in order to open a portal. It was like pulling taffy out of the middle of her body when she started to open a doorway. There was a weird, stretching feeling that started the moment she located the energy inside her that would then become an opening in the air. She clasped her hands, and then she slowly and steadily pulled them away from each other. The taffy feeling from inside her body was between her fingers, too, then. In the space between her hands, the air shimmered like there was something almost liquid and shivering in the air. It widened as she spread her hands farther apart and then stepped to the side.

The feeling of opening a doorway was still uncomfortable even though it was floating there now. She knew what to expect, so the weird feeling of being turned inside out each time she did this was easier. She still didn’t
like
it, but it was the quickest way to get from the middle of the darkened museum to their hometown.

“Go on,” she urged the four boys and Reyna.

Baldwin dived through without pause. The twins held hands and stepped in with the sort of grace that made them seem more supernatural than she ever felt—even when she
had just opened up a magical doorway. Owen followed. Then, as soon as Matt went through, Laurie stepped into the portal.

“Meet up back at the longship in no more than two hours,” Matt said once they were all together in Blackwell, and then he and the twins left.

Laurie was standing with Baldwin and Owen outside the Thorsen Community and Recreation Center. The sky was dark here, too, and all she could hope was that Raiders or trolls wouldn’t be any better at seeing in the dark than she was.

“Follow me,” she told Baldwin and Owen, and together they set out through the pitch-black streets of the town.

B
ack to Blackwell. The last place on earth Matt wanted to be. In some ways, fighting the final battle of Ragnarök seemed easier than facing his parents.

“So what’s the deal with your folks?” Reyna asked as they skirted the edges of town, heading toward his neighborhood.

He shrugged and said nothing.

“Are they
okay
with the apocalypse thing?”

Another shrug.

“She’s not prying, Matt,” Ray said. “It’ll help if we know what we’re up against here.”

“We’re not up
against
anything,” he said. “It’s my family.
I’ll handle it. You guys are just standing watch in case of trouble.”

“And if the trouble comes from them?” Reyna said.

“My family would never—”

He stopped. He’d thought the same thing about Granddad once.

“I’ll handle it,” he said. “Whatever happens.”

“We’ll be right outside,” Ray said. “If there’s any trouble, shout.”

After a few more steps, Reyna came up beside him, her voice lowered as she said, “You don’t need to handle this alone, Matt.”

“Yep,” he said. “I do.”

Returning to Blackwell was much easier in the dark. There was electricity here. Whatever the monsters’ plan, they clearly weren’t going to attack the town run by the guy leading them.

There were still only a few lights. All the Thorsens knew what was happening, and they wouldn’t panic and throw on every light to fend off the darkness. That was a blessing as they crept through yards, Matt making his way home.

Home.

He could see it ahead. Just an ordinary house on a street of ordinary houses. Inside was his room. With a bed and
clean clothing and an iPod and a laptop, and all the things he’d taken for granted. A week ago, he’d have longed to sneak in, to sleep on a real mattress and take a hot shower and put on clean clothes. He’d have fantasized about going back to school. Yes, school. Where he understood what was expected of him. Where he knew he could succeed, with the right effort. Where he was normal, like a million other kids. Not the smartest thirteen-year-old boy. Not the most athletic or the most popular. But smart enough, athletic enough, and popular enough that no one picked on him and some looked up to him. A good life for a kid. A really, really good life.

Now, looking at his house, he couldn’t imagine that life. He couldn’t foresee a time when he’d be back in his bedroom, trying to sleep and worrying about the next science fair project.

If he defeated the Midgard Serpent, would things just go back to normal? Would
he
go back to normal?
Could
he?

“Is this it?” Reyna asked, and he realized he was in his neighbor’s yard, perched on the top of the fence, and staring at his house.

“Yep. Not quite like yours, huh?” He’d seen Ray and Reyna’s house. You could fit five of his inside it.

“It’s very…” she began.

“Small?” he said.

“I was going to say normal.”

He choked back a laugh, and she glanced over, not getting the joke. He shook his head and jumped over the fence. As soon as his feet touched ground, he heard Reyna shout and suddenly he wasn’t touching ground anymore. He was whipping through the air.

Mjölnir fell from his hand and struck the ground with a thump. Matt hit the ground next, flat on his face. He tried to scramble up, but a foot stomped the small of his back.

The air whooshed from his lungs. Ray shouted. Matt twisted to see the twins running toward him. Then whoever had him pinned caught Ray by the arm, throwing him aside. Reyna had been running to Matt’s aid, but when she saw her brother go flying, she tore after him instead.

“Tell your new friends to back off, Matt,” said a voice above him.
“Now.”

It was a voice Matt knew very well. Jake. His brother.

Before all this started, Matt would have said the person he got along best with in his family was Josh, his other brother. Matt had a decent enough relationship with his parents. They were disappointed by him—always had been—but they loved him. Jake, though? Jake barely tolerated him. To him, Matt was a screwup. An embarrassment.

“It’s okay, guys,” Matt said. “It’s my brother.”

“I guessed that,” Reyna said. “And I don’t care. Either he lets you up by the count of five or—”

Jake grabbed Matt by the collar and lifted him into the air. “Better?”

“Can I hit him now?” Reyna asked.

“You really think you can hurt me, little girl?” Jake pulled himself up to his full height, towering head and shoulders above Reyna.

“Depends on where I hit you. Now let him—”

Jake threw Matt to the ground, his chin hitting hard enough for him to nip his tongue. He winced, his eyes tearing up with pain. Then he slowly rose, keeping his back to everyone so Jake wouldn’t think he was crying.

“Matt?” Reyna said. “Remember what I said about you needing to be less nice? If this is what you’d be like, forget I mentioned it. Nice is good.”

She walked over to him as he brushed himself off, his back still to Jake. Then his brother grabbed the shield, yanking it off so fast Matt nearly fell again.

“Hey!” Reyna said, wheeling on Jake. “Can you stop being a jerk for two seconds? I don’t know what your problem is, but Matt came to—”

“Came to what? Steal something else?”

Matt turned to see Jake holding out the shield.

“I shouldn’t be surprised you stole this,” Jake said, “after everything you’ve done, but I still thought you were better than this, Matt.”